The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword
by OkonoMiyagi
Summary: He wanted to see her face, to hear her voice, to feel her touch. When he experiences none of these, he takes up the pen to tell her all about his quest to save her. Set during Skyward Sword. Here there be spoilers.
1. If It Kills Me

**The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword**

**Summary: He wanted to see her face, to hear her voice, to feel her touch. When he experiences none of these, he takes up the pen to tell her all about his quest to save her. Set during Skyward Sword. Here there be spoilers.**

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**One: If It Kills Me**

Dear Zelda,

I miss you already.

I've decided to keep a diary of everything I can remember in the days until I bring you back home. I just wish you were here so I could tell you in person…

I think this is the first time you and I haven't been seen together in Skyloft. The more I think about it, the more I think it's true. You and I would always be playing in the plaza when we were little, pretending we were Loftwings flying through the sky. We were always together in class at the Academy. Horwell said something about us always sitting next to each other, and how he never had the heart to separate us even when we talked a little louder than we should have. We'd always tell Eagus we couldn't spar each other in sword practice, because I never wanted to be the one to "kill" you. We'd work for Bertie and Luv during the summer to pocket a little extra money during the summer—together, of course. I still remember poor Bertie getting his nose pinched by all those Sky Stag Beetles we brought him. And when we finally got our Loftwings, I remember our races through the sky, reliving our childhood memories. Given the number of times you beat me, it's a miracle I won the Wing Ceremony Race today.

There'd be a joke I'd play on you when we were little, when I'd suddenly forget I was a Loftwing and become a tornado, determined to throw you off course. But it never worked. You'd always manage to escape just in time.

Boy, I wish you could've gotten away this time.

I'll never forget that look of pure terror on your face as you disappeared beneath the clouds. That face that screamed out to me to come save you.

And the last face I saw before you disappeared, and I blacked out.

I'm sitting here in my bed, restless as ever. That scream you let out before you fell…I felt so helpless at that moment, Zelda, knowing that I was doing everything I could to save you. And even though I was used to feeling helpless while being subjected to Groose's bullying, I knew I'd be able to shrug him off with your help.

But this time…helpless doesn't even begin to describe things when I couldn't do anything.

I had a terrible dream right before I woke up to write you. We were falling, like we were when the tornado knocked us away. Only the space felt like nothing. And I reached out to catch you, but you fell into the mouth of a scaly beast with no eyes and too many teeth for me to count. It was closing its mouth, about to swallow you…and then I woke up.

I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. You've been there for me so much. I'm determined to bring you back, Zelda. You're my best friend, and I'd take an arrow for you any day. I just hope I can save you like you've saved me in many ways over the years.

Tomorrow I descend to the surface, as I begin my quest to find you. I'll write you when I've had a bit more rest. So much has happened, I need time to clear my head.

I miss you so much. And I promise I'll bring you back. Even if it kills me.

Link

P.S. Apparently Horwell knows about our note passing in class. Busted!


	2. Flying Solo

**Two: Flying Solo**

Dear Zelda,

I thought a good night's rest might have done me some good. Turns out I'm even more confused than I was yesterday.

Where do I even start? Well, let's start with my new sword. Turns out it was inside the Goddess Statue the whole time. Yes, you read that right—_inside the freakin' Goddess Statue_! I don't know if you knew it was there before, but I sure as heck didn't. Surprise. Anyway, my new sword feels rather light in my hands. Quite easy to handle, which surprised me. You'd like it—I know you always used to make quite the fuss when you were left with the heavy swords in Eagus's class. It's not the best cutting implement, but it gets the job done. Certainly better than the practice sword you last saw me with.

There's something cool I can do with it, too! I just have to point the sword to the sky for a few seconds, and then I can unleash a spiral beam of energy! IT'S TOO COOL! You have to see it, you'd have a field day with it. I remember you saying something like, "why can't swords have more range?" when you were fighting Stritch one time. I'll teach it to you when I get you back.

Anyway. Your dad said something about "the youth of legend," and that the sword that I'm now holding gave off a "faint, otherworldly light." He then went on about how I'm supposed to fulfill the prophecy of legend. To be honest, it's a little overwhelming to me, but apparently I'm the goddess's chosen hero? Zelda, I thought these stories were just folklore, and I thought you were just obsessed with myths and legends. Could it be that they're actually true? I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around that, but if it means getting you back, then so be it, I'll fulfill that prophecy. Then again, Fi also said something about "abolishing the shadow of the apocalypse." Sounds like quite the task.

Oh yeah, almost forgot about Fi. She's the one who turned me onto the fact that there's a chamber inside the Goddess Statue, and she's inhabited the Goddess Sword the whole time. Yeah, that's right, she lives in the sword. She's…well, she's a character, for lack of a better term. She has this strange, robotic voice. And she's always so…formal. It's a bit jarring for her to call me "Master Link," and I'm still not sure why she's doing it, but maybe I'll get used to it over time. Though I never quite understood why she had to be so…what's the word, robotic? It's always "I detect a such-and-such percent chance of so-and-so happening if you do this-and-that, Master" with her. Or "Master, the batteries in your Wii Remote are nearly depleted." I don't even know what a Wii Remote is, so why does she feel the need to bring it up? Unless she's referring to the fact that I'm already running out of Stamina Potion.

That's the other thing. That Stamina Potion that I so very much hated when we worked for Bertie and Luv? I still hate the taste of Sky Stag Beetle guts (even if I never got tired of them pinching Bertie's nose), but you wouldn't believe how much of it I needed today. Eagus insisted that he train me even further to refine my sword technique before I go out to look for you, and I'm worn out, even after 3 bottles of the stuff.

Tomorrow, I'm finally leaving for the surface. There's a big, green light coming from the cloud barrier, and I can't wait to see what the surface holds.

I'm coming, Zelda.

Link


	3. Falling Out of the Sky

**Three: Falling Out of the Sky**

Dear Zelda,

Did I mention I never really liked skydiving that much?

All I can say is, without the Sailcloth you gave me, your landing must have _hurt_. Grass apparently doesn't cushion as much as I thought. The things you learn when you forget you have a Sailcloth…

I'm sure this is only just one part of the Surface, but…wow. Just wow. Never mind the fact that it's so much greener than Skyloft. Apparently those old stories you told me, of your dreams of the Surface…you dreamed of meadows, of streams, of places of fire, of vast expanses of sand…

I just can't believe you were right all along.

The old woman in the temple said you had passed through here. It's strange to think that there are people just like you and me down here as well. It's comforting, in a sense, to know that we're not the only ones of our kind down here. Granted, the fact that she seems to be hiding something from me about you is kinda unnerving. It's like I've arrived late to the party or something.

Wouldn't be anything new, though, would it? I mean, how many people do you know have been late to their own birthday party? You remember, right? It was my twelfth birthday, and I remember how you wouldn't quit about how you insisted to your dad that all of Skyloft should be there for your best friend. And you drilled it into my head, too…six o'clock, six o'clock, six o'clock.

And what do I do? Show up at seven, of course, because you had to come and wake me up.

Anyway, that's besides the point. I only bring it up because Fi mentioned she can sense your aura, and she'd be able to lead me to you.

I'm sure you saw the tons of monsters, then, if what the old woman, Gorko, and the Kikwi say is true. I'd much rather handle a Remlit outside at night than the hordes of these…what did Fi call them? Bokoblins? At least you can chuck Remlits off the side of Skyloft and not worry about them for the time it takes for them to float back up…

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Gorko's a real down-to-earth kind of guy. Then again, he kinda looks like a rock, so…

(At this point you'd groan and sucker punch me…even though you're not here, my lame puns still haven't gone away. Deal with it.)

But anyway…Gorko says he's doing research. On us, of all people! Us Skyloftians! He sorta reminded me about you, Zel, whenever you told me about a dream you had about the surface; apparently he had similar visions about the Sky. We spent a good few minutes talking about life above and below the Cloud Barrier before I insisted I had to move along. You'd like him, Zelda. One of these days we've got to get him up to the Lumpy Pumpkin and have a drink with him. I'm sure he'd enjoy that.

Yes, I know we'd have to figure out how to get him up there, but let's worry about that later, OK?

Anyway. So the Kikwi people are—and I know I don't use this word often—adorable. Their skittish cowardice is so funny, it's actually kind of cute. You don't normally think of a furry squirrel-like animal with a plant growing out of its back, though…I will admit, that took me by surprise at first. But then, it's not every day that a couple of people falling out of the Sky come by…

You met Bucha, right? He sorta reminds me of your dad, in a way. I don't mean the fact that they're both big, but rather the fact that they both have this gentle sternness about them. Bucha has this way about him where he can be borderline pushy about getting something done (and promptly admonishing you when you don't get it done), but I can't think of anyone else who would let me climb onto his back to claim a reward—more on that later. But yeah, sorta reminded me of your dad. And don't get me started why…I've seen what he does to Groose when his ego gets too big for his pompadour, and let's just say that I hope I'm never on the receiving end of that. Your dad is gentle when he wants to be, but if you provoke him enough he'll unleash the fury of the Goddess on you.

You also probably saw the big tree in the woods—it's huge! There definitely isn't anything that big on Skyloft that I can remember, but I wonder why we haven't been able to see it from up there! (Well, then again, it is a long way down to the Surface from Skyloft, so maybe that's why…)

So I've just reached the entrance to the temple. Bucha and Gorko had told me you had gone in that direction. Time to put the pen down before I go kick some monster tail!

Much love. Stay safe.

_Link_


	4. The First Temple

**Four: The First Temple**

Dear Zelda,

I never could have imagined that there was a temple on the Surface. I wonder who or what they dedicated it to? Do the Surface-dwellers worship the same Goddess we do? Has to be, because I can't imagine them worshipping anyone different…well, except maybe the Three.

Fi tells me you had already been through the dungeon, and I found that kinda hard to believe; these Deku Babas are already snatching at me. I can only wonder how you got through here without a weapon of some kind. Especially the second room, with that stupid eye…switch…guard thing in the second room. What do you even call that? I must've spent an hour alone trying to figure that stupid thing out!

As I'm sure you saw while you went through it, the temple is filled with a ton of puzzles and mazes that I spent a bit more time than I would have liked figuring out. It's a good thing we had so much training from your dad on cognitive reasoning at the Academy…I know I'd be much more lost without it. I never would have figured out that there was an underwater hole in one of the walls that led to a key…

So I picked up a new toy in the dungeon: the Beetle! Quite a handy thing, really. Where was this when we had to take down all those streamers at Pipit's birthday party last year? There were so many streamers then…remember how it took us about two hours to get them all down? I wish I had this at the time…I could've cut through all of them in a hurry! And I wouldn't have had to climb onto the rafters above.

Anyway, this new Beetle-thing is really helpful with getting rid of these spider webs that keep snagging me. I had to cut down a box hanging from the ceiling, too…although the box almost fell on top of me. I had apparently forgotten gravity existed…

One thing I never figured out was why I needed a statue to get into the deepest part of the dungeon. Couldn't they have made it a regular key instead? OK, maybe a snazzier, different key than the ones I've been finding throughout the dungeon, but still…figuring out which way it had to go into the lock was a real bother. On the plus side, the statue looked kinda cool…

The cool about this dungeon stopped there, though. I ran into this creepy-looking guy, Ghirahim, at the door right before the fountain. He said something about pursuing you to prevent you from preventing him from reviving his master…at that point I was so lost I didn't quite understand what he was saying. All I know is that he wants you for some strange reason, and I don't like it. Apparently he doesn't like me either, because he doesn't like how I'm always swooping in to protect you. I can't help it, can I?

Even more irritating was the fact that he caught my sword with his own two fingers. Yes, his own two _fingers_. I mean, any normal person would do that and their fingers would come right off! How does he do that?

…never mind, don't answer that.

Anyway. It took me a while to figure out how to beat him (thank goodness for Bertie and Luv's red potions), but he eventually got impatient with me and took off. I don't know why he didn't just kill me, but I'm quite grateful that he didn't! I'm a little afraid of him, though…who knows what he'll do to me the next time we cross paths.

It seems like I have a bit of a ways to go, even after navigating that temple…Fi tells me you've gone elsewhere to purify your body as part of a…sacred ritual?

My dear Zelda, what am I getting myself into?

Yours,  
Link


	5. Giving New Meaning to Head in the Clouds

**Chapter 5: Giving New Meaning to "Head in the Clouds"**

My dear Zelda,

I came back to Skyloft today for the first time since leaving for the Surface. As soon as I touched down (that Sailcloth really comes in handy, by the way), I was bombarded with questions. Questions about what the Surface looks like, whether or not I found you, whether you're still alive, if I know what took you away in the first place…it's been an endless barrage of questions, and I don't know if I can answer them all. Groose in particular won't shut up, but then what else is new?

Your dad, as I'm sure you can imagine, is worried sick about you. He asked me about you as soon as I walked into the Knight Academy; I'm very relieved that he didn't up and murder me when I couldn't answer his question of where you were.

Then again, I never expected him to, but then these are strange times indeed.

I almost want to scream at everyone, because they think it's so simple. They think it's a matter of scouring every edge of the Surface to find you and bring you back. But they truly have no idea what's going on, what I have to go through. They just don't get it. Fi is the only one I can seem to talk to, but then even she gets annoying at times.

Fledge seems to be getting by; I think Cawlin, Stritch, and Groose have finally gotten it in their heads to leave the poor kid alone. Pipit had told me he himself told all three of them off for playing yet another prank on him, and apparently that was enough to stop it all. He said something about expulsion the next time they try to pull a stunt like that. Must've been serious, whatever it was…I didn't press for details. Karane is getting increasingly lonely without you—I know she's ordinarily a bit grumpy, but she seems to be even more so without you around.

Oh yeah…no one ever told me about the Lumpy Pumpkin. Apparently Stritch has been going for months without anyone even noticing. But I have to say, I wish I knew about it sooner. That pumpkin soup is to die for…no wonder Knight-Commander Eagus likes it so much. You'd love it, Zelda…the perfect combination of sweet and savory that you always talk about. What was that word you used again? Umami or something like that? Whatever it was, the pumpkin soup embodies that to a T. I'll have to remember to take you whenever we're done with this nonsense.

Ever since I dealt with that first temple, I've been having a ton of trouble sleeping at night. I can't quite put my finger on why, but often times I'll just sleep comfortably for an hour or so and then, unexpectedly, wake up in the middle of the night. And I won't be able to fall asleep for another hour or so! It's awful. Apparently it got so bad that even Fi had to wake up and knock some sense into me—she had told me I was screaming your name.

I've also been having nightmares, Zelda. I see you, just as you were before you were taken from me, falling into a dark pit. I reach out to try to grab your hand, until I realize that you're falling straight into the mouth of a huge, scaly beast with no eyes and a lot of teeth. It's only moments after you fall into its mouth that I wake up—thankfully I don't see it closing its mouth.

Maybe that's why I was screaming your name, Zelda. Maybe that's why I've been having nightmares, why I've been having so much trouble sleeping at night. I'm terrified of losing you. And I'm doing everything I can to get you back. I just wish I knew, somehow, somewhere, that you're OK.

Come back to me, dear friend. I miss you terribly.

Yours,

Link


	6. Digging Around and Playing With Fire

**Chapter 6: Digging Around and Playing With Fire**

My dear Zelda,

The first thing I should've packed when I started to tackle the next dungeon was an extra bottle of water.

I had a feeling that it was going to be hot, given how Fi kept telling me we were going to a volcano, but jeez, I wasn't expecting constant, scorching heat that makes it difficult for you to breathe. Yeesh.

I met some new folks down in that region—Eldin, I think Fi called it—and they're real characters. Mogmas, they're called. They sound a lot like some hicks that frequent the Lumpy Pumpkin, except you can tell they're incredibly greedy. It's a good thing my wallet was relatively empty after buying that Iron Shield from Rupin; I bet they would've stolen it right off me. But…oh jeez, what were their names? They were a real hoot. Plus one of them gave me these awesome digging mitts. You'd love 'em. The thought of stuff being stuck underground seems a bit strange to me (especially when it's stray rupees), but you'd be surprised how much extra money I've pocketed since. Sorta reminded me of that time us, Pipit, Fledge, and Karane went on a treasure hunt when we were younger…except I remember Pipit hadn't buried a green rupee like we had asked him to. Don't remember what he did make us find in the end, except all I know is that he insisted that it was in that one spot, and lo and behold, we go back and it's not there.

Anyway, Eldin Volcano itself is a marathon to climb—and I'm not just saying that because of all the bad guys I had to dodge on my way up. It's massive! I mean, I thought the hike up to the Goddess Statue was pretty tough, but that seems like a cakewalk compared to this. Though there are parts where you can slide down like those water slides they used to set up at the end of the school year. Always a ton of fun…although there was that one time I reached the end and forgot to pull out the sailcloth. Ouch.

It was about when I made it into the temple that I wished I had that extra bottle of water. Of course by the time I reached the top I don't know how many Bokoblins I had to cut down or how much of their mischief—not to mention that I've been climbing a mountain in the process—so naturally I'm exhausted. How I managed to get through the gate without tumbling into the lava is a mystery to me…

Too many times, I had to cross a sea of lava by running on a giant ball. And as I tried so desperately hard not to fall in, I could hear you silently laughing at my misery, just how you and Karane would whenever Pipit and I had to heave those barrels for Henya. (At least then there wasn't a threat of becoming toast if we screwed up.) Of course there was the part of me that hoped you were at least the tiniest bit worried.

Oh yeah, I also now have the ability to blow stuff up. One of the Mogmas let me keep the bag full of bombs that he lost (and that I subsequently found), and it's easily my new favorite toy. And you'll remember I got pretty excited over the Beetle when I first found it. But it got me thinking, too…if this dungeon had a lot of places I couldn't reach without bombing a wall someplace, how many others like this are there in Skyloft? Or even in the other temple? All I know is that I'm going to have to make good use of these. And I better start digging up more money…you just know Rupin's going to have these in stock back home when I start running out.

When I reached the end of the dungeon and found those chains they kept you in, I was angry that someone would do that to you, but also simultaneously relieved that someone had broken you out. That monster—Scaldera, I think Fi called it—that thing just wouldn't die. There's nothing more frightening than a ball of fire with legs chasing you up a ramp that's blocked at the top. But then…watching you fall through the clouds was just as bad, the more I think about it.

And then when I saw your face when it was all over with…oh, Zelda, you have no idea what was going through my head at that point. I was happy that you were alive, that you were safe, and that you looked beautiful in that white gown you were wearing—but then that mysterious woman you were with stopped me.

But why did she stop me? Why wouldn't she let me take you back to Skyloft with me? Your dad, the Academy, everyone's worried sick about you. And this entire ordeal would be over with once you're home safe…

Well, there's that creepy Ghirahim guy that still needs to be resolved. So there's more to this story…Zelda, why do I get the feeling you've known more than you're letting on this whole time?

If it means getting you back safe and sound, I will let it play out. Just come back to us…to me.

Yours,

Link


End file.
